Nau mai haere mai!

With the end of Term 3 just a short couple of days away it is time to reflect on what has been achieved at EOHS this term in an ever changing national and global landscape.

We started Term 3 in Alert Level 1, which essentially was business as usual with a focus on good hygiene practices and contact tracing.

In week two we had a First Aid course at school with a number of students from Year 11-13 as well as staff completing this course.

Week three was the Junior Social which was run by our Formal organising committee. The theme was "Fright Night" with a great number of the participants impressing with their costumes. Of particular note were the Year 7/8 teachers Ms McLachlan, Mr Cummings and Mr Walker.

In week four was our annual Ski Trip to Cardrona. The students, staff and parents departed on the 11th of August under Alert Level 1. Once they had arrived an outbreak of Covid 19 was found in Auckland which brought Auckland into Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country into ALert Level 2. This change in levels had an immediate impact on this trip with Cardona closing on 12th of August to plan for how they could operate within the parameters of Alert Level 2. This was heartbreaking for the group of students but the team in charge quickly re-grouped and planned a day of tramping in the glorious Central Otago Lakes District. Fortunately the team at Cardrona was able to open and our students were able to complete the requirements for their Achievement standards and get a few days of mint skiing/snowboarding.

Week 5 saw our Open Day for Year 6/8 students from our contributing schools. This was a great day for these students with an eye catching 47 students participating. The corresponding evening with parents was equally pleasing with a good turn out and a positive vibe.

Fast forward to week 8 and we were finally able to run our Senior Formal. This had to be run under Alert Level 2 conditions meaning no outside partners and social distancing of the parents. The Formal Committee did a great job organising this event and spent the two days leading up to this setting up the hall. A big thank you must go to Mr and Mrs Sheat, Mr and Mrs McLeod, Alayca Toomey and the other parents that contributed to this great event.

In week 9 we had Lily Blasby, Naomi Bridger, Luke Paton and Ashton Scott speak at assembly about the attributes they possess to make them the candidate of choice for the Student Representative on the BOT. We are lucky to have such a number of quality applicants. Voting closes noon Saturday the 26th of September. 

On the weekend of the 19th and 20th of September we had Josh Walker participating in the Hip Hop dancing Nationals in Wellington. Josh gained a 2nd place in the Duo and a 2nd place in the Future Champions group performance. Well done Josh for this huge achievement.

In  this last week of Term 3, students will be participating in the COED sports tournament in town. It is great to be under Alert Level 1 so we can go along and support these students as they represent us with pride.

Finally I would like to wish all the students a well deserved break this Friday afternoon. Our senior students will however, be putting some work into preparing for their practice examinations which start on the 14th of October. It is of vital importance to do as well as they can in these examinations to ensure that if the end of year NCEA examinations are affected by Covid 19 they can draw on these results for any derived grade necessary.

Nga mihi nui.

Marcus Cooper